China pressure on Myanmar

A Chinese company has stepped up pressure on Myanmar after it surprisingly suspended construction of a jointly backed but much criticised hydroelectric dam, saying scrapping the project would cause legal problems.

A Chinese company has stepped up pressure on Myanmar after it surprisingly suspended construction of a jointly backed but much criticised hydroelectric dam, saying scrapping the project would cause legal problems.

In an interview late Monday with official Xinhua News Agency, the president of China Power Investment Corp, Lu Qizhou, said he was “totally astonished” when Myanmar President Thein Sein announced Friday that the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam project had been halted.

The dam has come under criticism because it was supposed to export about% of electricity it generated to China, while the vast majority of Myanmar’s residents have no electricity.